Question: I am going to be attending this next year as a non-resident of Texas. If I were to buy a condo in Austin this summer, would I be able to establish residency for tuition for my 2nd and 3rd years?

georges2 wrote:How much truth is in the TLS myth that UT Law has no national reach? That one that says that u should to UT only if you are certain that u wanna practice in Texas?

I think a lot of it is legitimate self-selection due to the fact that 2/3 of the student body hails from Texas to begin with. I know a lot of ppl who have gone through UT law, and many of them wanted to stay in Texas. The few who didn't want to stay in Texas were able to get out w/o much problem it seemed (2 in NY, 1 in LA).

This is obviously all anecdotal, but when it comes to issues of self-selection it's very hard to get a good read of what the school is actually capable of from the raw data.

hownowbrowncow wrote:I was wondering if any current 1Ls or 2Ls can elaborate on their experience with summer job hunting?

Many thanks to all the UT law students for answering questions. Y'all are a huge help!

I'm a rising 3L.

Strategic networking helped me land my summer gig. I cultivated relationships not only with the CSO folks, but also with administrators who were open, friendly, and helpful. Some of these administrators put me in touch with established, well-connected attorneys in my target city. The job followed. So did summer housing. I even made some new attorney friends in my target city.

Master the art of strategic networking. It will make your job search much easier.

Are there many law students that do these dual programs? How does admissions view applicants applying to dual degree programs (do they even care?). I also just read this TLS article http://www.top-law-schools.com/introduc ... egree.html about JD/MA and overall the tone seemed pretty negative. It said that some (employers) consider JD/MA like two "half" degrees - any thoughts on this? Basically I'm curious to hear any insight about UT's JD/MA middle east studies programs (or MA programs in general). Thanks!

Are there many law students that do these dual programs? How does admissions view applicants applying to dual degree programs (do they even care?). I also just read this TLS article http://www.top-law-schools.com/introduc ... egree.html about JD/MA and overall the tone seemed pretty negative. It said that some (employers) consider JD/MA like two "half" degrees - any thoughts on this? Basically I'm curious to hear any insight about UT's JD/MA middle east studies programs (or MA programs in general). Thanks!

I'm curious about this, as well. How common is it that you come across someone doing a dual degree? I am starting my MPA (MPAff at UT) this fall and will be applying to UT for fall 2012. I am above the GRE medians for verbal and quant for UT's MPAff program and I really wanted to apply to do JD/MPA there but reading TLS makes me question it. My career goal (I know I won't make a lot of money but that is not why I want to be a lawyer) is to work in nonprofit law and I'll be working towards my MPA in non-profit mgmt when I apply to UT law. I'd love to do the dual program but I can't really find anything besides the highly-negative opinions of dual degrees on TLS.

I am in the exact same boat. Super interested in this.

Also, have you looked into the RGK Center non-profit portfolio program? It's open to all grad students at UT - though they tell me they have no JDs in it (not that they couldn't enroll), only JD/MPAs. I'm thinking about doing this.

Any law students here with a public interest focus? I'm wondering what the general outlook is for public interest work right now in particular (since all the nonprofits I have connects with are hurting right now) and what one should do differently during 1L (or 0L, if need be) re:job searching.

japes wrote:Any law students here with a public interest focus? I'm wondering what the general outlook is for public interest work right now in particular (since all the nonprofits I have connects with are hurting right now) and what one should do differently during 1L (or 0L, if need be) re:job searching.

UT seems very PI friendly. I went to a whole series of lunch talks for us kids that want to do PI stuff: LRAP, job searches, things to do as a 1L, 2L, 3L, and even one session where you sent in questions and brought in your resume and stuff. If you can, do the Pro Bono in January trip--I did, and I ended up getting my summer job at a different branch of the same org we volunteered with that week. There are lots of volunteer opportunities from the start--you don't even have to look very hard. I know they always have opportunities for working with vets and for doing intake at different places. I imagine volunteering there during the year can't hurt when it's time to find a summer gig.

I don't know what to do about job searching in the long run, though. I guess I'm hoping I'll figure it out when I get there. For now, I'm super psyched to be working at a nonprofit for the summer.